Hi all – the three Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoos that I spotted at Narrabundah Hill last Saturday were in the company of a Flame Robin (a brown bird). All were perching on a fence-line within a metre
of so of each other, dropping down to pick up caterpillars (larger ones for the cuckoos) and returning to the wire to eat them. No assailing was happening – the robin appeared to be ignoring the cuckoos.
Steve
From: Martin Butterfield [
Sent: Tuesday, 29 August 2017 12:58 PM
To: COG List <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Robins vs Cuckoos
I have just been to the top of our block and observed 2 Horsfields Bronze-Cuckoos hopping around on the ground and getting assailed by 3 Flame Robins. One of the Robins was just getting some embers,
if not quite flames, the other two were basic brown birds.
According to HANZAB Flame Robins are a known host of the cuckoos and 12% of the hosts for the species were
Petroica Robins. The Robins kept up the attack (or defence, depending on your perspective) for quite some distance across bare ground and I couldn't spot a potential nest site.
